Today we were able to sleep in a little while before our breakfast. Eugene met us at the hotel, and we were cruising around in our tourbus by 9:30 a.m. It was nice to see Penang in the morning light once again. It is so beautiful. Penang is an island off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was colonized by the British, and many of the British colonial era buildings still stand to this day. Penang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so they keep really good care of all their historic buildings. So, there is a strong colonial influence in the city, yet it is a rapidly growing metropolis as well. To accommodate both the historic landmarks and the growing population, architects have begun incorporating colonial buildings into modern high rise apartment structures or shopping malls. For example, the entrance of a shopping mall might be through the doors of a colonial mansion. The shell of the house remains intact, but the inside of the house is renovated or replaced. Then the house is attached to the high rise structure, which may be of completely modern architecture. The striking contrast created with the juxtaposition of the colonial and modern architecture makes the buildings that much more beautiful. I love cities that appreciate their historical landmarks, and Penang has found a way to do so while encouraging growth.
We started our tour at the water's edge. We stopped by lapping tides of the Strait of Malacca, then walked by the Penang War Memorial and through the Supreme Court (another beautiful colonial building) to the first Anglican church built in Southeast Asia, the Parish of St. George the Martyr. It was commissioned and used by the British, and was built in 1816. It is a crisp white building, as are many of the colonial structures we passed this morning. The white paint is such a stark contrast to the greenery all around, and would have stood out even more in the days when these structures were originally built.
From there, we walked to the Street of Harmony, where, in addition to the Anglican church, a Buddhist temple, Mosque, and Hindu temple all coexist on this street. This is a great example of what we have seen of Penang so far--that people of many different beliefs can all live together quite comfortably and peacefully on this Malaysian island.
Next, we walked through my favorite area of Penang--the area that has all the street art and wall murals! The artwork is painted on the walls of buildings, or made of wire and attached to the buildings. We had fun posing by all the different murals. It was so hot, though. We were walking around outside, and the humidity was starting to get to us. We decided to stop for some fresh coconut juice at a small cafe in the tourist area. Eugene told us that the price was a bit higher than normal (because of all the tourists) but we gladly paid it. I swear, it was like drinking natural gatorade. Soon, we were energized and ready to go again!
We walked from the artsy area to Chew Jetty, a collection of shops and homes along a wharf. When we stopped at the end of the wharf for a break in the shade, our tour guide told us that factoring the humidity of the day into the temperature calculation meant that we were walking around in what felt like 115 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not sure what methods he used for his calculations, but I concur with his results. (Side note: We randomly ran into a professor from La Sierra on the end of the Jetty. What are the odds?) Soon we headed back to our bus and the salvation that is Air Conditioning. On the way back, we saw some strange wildlife coming out of the ocean. It was low tide, and many of the small boats tied to the dock were sitting in the mud. And out of this mud, fish were crawling like undead zombies towards us. I could hardly believe my eyes. They had tiny hands and normal fish tails, like T-rex mermaids. Dr. Perumal told us that they were mud skippers, and were actually a type of salamander. And they provide a strong argument in favor of swimming shoes.
Next, we went to lunch at a Chinese Vegetarian restaurant. It was 100% vegetarian! I didn't even know what to do with all of the options! We had eel, chicken satay, green curry, Singapore fried noodles, and my personal favorite, sautéed vegetables in a baked yam bowl. YUM.
After lunch, we headed for a nearby mall. On the way to a mall, we saw a lot of abandoned buildings that were beautifully graffitied and overgrown with jungle plants. It was as if the jungle was reclaiming the property. Here. even in the middle of the downtown area, any little patch of land can give a small glimpse at the jungle that must have existed everywhere before the years of urbanization.
After the mall, we reloaded the bus and went to a bazaar. We had an hour and a half to spend there, but we weren't really that interested in anything they were selling. Instead, Eugene led us to a nearby liquid nitrogen ice cream shop. (They freeze the ice cream right in front of you using liquid nitrogen.) It was a hipster haven. We played UNO and drank San Pellegrinos while eating chocolate banana ice cream and coconut ice cream that came in a whole coconut. It was such a nice break from the heat! Thankfully our unofficial tour guide, Eugene, knows where all the best ice cream places are!
We rejoined the group at the bazaar and then loaded up the bus again. We went to see the fourth largest reclining Buddha in the world. The temple was about the size of an airplane hangar, and the giant Buddha had fabulous sparkly toenails made from mother of pearl. Afterwards we went to another Buddhist temple across the street, but this time Buddha was standing.
When we were finished there, we had some free time to relax in the hotel. Again, we were very glad to escape to the Air Conditioning. I'm really glad I wore black today, because I was drenched in sweat. Honestly though, at this point on the trip we don't even care if we have giant sweat rings in photos and our hair is plastered to our foreheads. It's par for the course in this tropical climate, and to me it means that we are getting out there and exploring.
We were going to go to dinner at the cafeteria of the Adventist hospital across the street, but they closed their doors at 5:30 pm. That seems a tad early for the dinner crowd, but oh well. We had dinner in a small shopping area beneath our hotel, at a Thai restaurant. (We ate there twice last year!) It was delicious! We got lots of Pad See Ew noodles with either veggies or chicken. We also had fresh mango juice, and mooncakes for dessert. The mooncake I tried had a red bean filling, which was really good!
After dinner, Eugene went home and we went back up to our hotel room. We blogged for a bit, then went to bed. We had done a lot of walking, and the heat really takes it out of you! Plus, we have to pace ourselves. We've got a lot more adventuring to do tomorrow!
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